A liquid crystal display device has advantages such as being lightweight and thin and having low power consumption and thus is actively developed. In recent years, a liquid crystal display device employing a transverse electric field type that is referred to as an in-plane switching (IPS) type or a fringe field switching (FFS) type has been known as a liquid crystal display device that is widely used for portable electronic devices such as a smartphone or a tablet PC.
As an IPS type liquid crystal display device, disclosed is a liquid crystal display device (refer to, for example, PTL 1) in which, for example, a first polarizing film, a first retardation area and a second retardation area, a first substrate, a liquid crystal layer, a second substrate, and a second polarizing film are arranged in this order, and liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are aligned parallel to the surfaces of the pair of substrates at the time of display in black. In the liquid crystal display device, an in-plane retardation Re of the second retardation area is less than or equal to 100 nm, and a thickness-direction retardation Rth thereof is 50 nm to 200 nm. The first retardation area has a negative refractive index anisotropy and has an optical axis substantially parallel to the surface of the layer. The slow axis of the first retardation area is orthogonal with respect to the direction of the transmission axis of the first polarizing film and of the slow axis of the liquid crystal molecules at the time of display in black.
Also disclosed is a liquid crystal display device (refer to, for example, PTL 2) in which at least one of a pair of substrates has an optical alignment film and an electrode in order from the liquid crystal layer side. The optical alignment film aligns liquid crystal molecules horizontally with respect to the surface of the optical alignment film. The direction of the polarized light transmission axis of a polarizing element on the observed surface side of a liquid crystal cell intersects with the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules at a voltage less than a threshold in a liquid crystal layer. A material constituting the optical alignment film includes a material that aligns the liquid crystal molecules in a direction intersecting with the polarization direction of polarized light with which the optical alignment film is irradiated.